Todd Porter: Michigan, Hoke will pull out all the stops

Even with a team that is struggling and a fan base that is restless, Brady Hoke took a calming approach to discussing Saturday’s game against Ohio State. It is a game that many Michigan fans don’t think Hoke can win. Some Michigan fans may be hoping he doesn’t.

Even with a team that is struggling and a fan base that is restless, Brady Hoke took a calming approach to discussing Saturday’s game against Ohio State. It is a game that many Michigan fans don’t think Hoke can win. Some Michigan fans may be hoping he doesn’t.

The honeymoon in Ann Arbor is over. Hoke’s job isn’t necessarily in danger, win or lose Saturday, but there are some on his coaching staff whose jobs may be. Hoke’s hot seat starts on simmer in 2014.

Reading Hoke isn’t easy. He teeters between looking like a disheveled genius, and Bluto from “Animal House.” Would anyone really be surprised if Hoke took the field wrapped in a sheet chanting, “Toga! Toga! Toga!” Saturday afternoon?

The state of Michigan’s football program is, like it or not, in Hoke’s glazed-donut stained hands. His team has lost four of its last six games, the offense has looked inept at times, confused at others and a few times brilliant. There were close calls against, ahem, Akron and Connecticut, not to mention snatching defeat from the jaws of victory last week against Iowa.

While even many Michigan fans don’t believe the Wolverines have a chance against third-ranked Ohio State on Saturday in Michigan Stadium, Hoke and his players aren’t listening to the noise. Or they’re pretending to contend.

“I’m very confident (an upset) could happen or we wouldn’t play. I’d call down to Columbus and say we won’t do it,” Hoke said.

The Wolverines aren’t calling off Saturday’s game. Nor should they. But very confident?

Hoke was asked about shifting goals now that most of them are out of reach, save beating Ohio State. He talked about the main goal still being the same, which is to play for the seniors.

The only teams playing for the seniors are the ones who can’t play for anything else at this point.

But then again, the Wolverines talk like they believe they can win ... sorta.

“Because we have heart. Because this team believes in themselves,” said co-captain and left tackle Taylor Lewan, who leads the team with 46 starts. “It doesn’t matter what any media, any fans, anybody thinks about this team. The only thing that matters is the guys in the locker room believe.

“I don’t care if there’s a trainer on the team that’s like ‘I don’t believe.’ That doesn’t matter. You’re not playing the game. The University of Michigan is all we got. ... If we all believe, then we can win a game, a single game. I don’t care what the margin of score is. Saturday all bets are off. We’re playing football and anything can happen.”

Page 2 of 3 - Ohio State players expect to get Michigan’s best game of the season. They should and they will.

The Wolverines aren’t looking at Saturday as a chance to ruin Ohio State’s season.

It isn’t that simple.

“We don’t talk about that,” Hoke said. “We talk about ourselves and what we have to do.”

Because, really, ruining Ohio State’s season isn’t going to wash the stench of Michigan’s away. The Buckeyes still can go to the Rose Bowl even with a loss to the Wolverines.

“(Snapping OSU’s 23-game winning streak) would be great, but I haven’t thought about it,” Lewan said. “I’m focusing on Michigan and trying to figure that whole thing out. ... As far as hypothetical situations ... if we win the game, I’ll talk to y’all Saturday and tell you how excited I am.”

That doesn’t exactly exude confidence.

To say Hoke has a firm grasp on this program and where it’s heading isn’t exactly fair. It is unknown.

You can’t blame Hoke for the weird science experiment in Ann Arbor that was Rich Rodriguez. However, Hoke’s recruiting classes should have started to mask the oil and water nature of Rodriguez’s talent evaluation.

Still, Hoke is leading a program that has lost 10 of the last 12 games to Ohio State. The only win since 2004 came two years ago when Luke Fickell was using a bucket to drain the water from the OSU ship that the NCAA tried to sink.

Michigan and Ohio State will always be storied rivals in a series that was voted as the best rivalry in sports by ESPN, a notch above Ali-Frazier. The Buckeyes are, again, a heavyweight.

The Wolverines are trying to become more than an oversight. Michigan will be back, soon, and an equal to Ohio State.

Hoke and his players are preaching consistency this week. It has eluded them most of the season, which is why they’re on the cusp of a five-loss season. It’s why Akron almost beat them ... at home.

You want to know how to change things?

Consistency.

Look at what Urban Meyer has done with Ohio State.

The secret?

“Consistency,” Meyer said. “Every once in a while you take a peek at the scoreboard, you see scores. You go what happened there? For this team to do it 23 times in a row, that’s an incredible testimony ... to the players. Tuesday’s practices are not a box of chocolates around here. Every week you better show up, or you stick out like a sore thumb.”

Page 3 of 3 - Right now, Michigan is that thumb. Wolverine fans wanted Hoke to be the guy. Now that confidence is wavering. Hoke is marching on, but looking over his shoulder.